Migrants

CARE FOR ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE GROUPS OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS

A) Specialised mental health care for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

Migration experience, especially under forced displacement, as is the case with refugees and asylum seekers, often has a significant impact on mental health. People who have to involuntarily migrate tend to face highly stressful situations before, during and after their displacement. Migration induced by war, political conflict, violence, economic limitations or separation from their family, social circles and support networks, as well as the reception conditions, are factors that pose tremendous challenges to the psychosocial well-being of these people. Displaced individuals are especially vulnerable if they suffer or have previously suffered from mental health disorders, and the impact of the migration is far more detrimental to their well-being and quality of life.

At Fundación Manantial, we extend our experience and knowledge in caring for people with serious mental illness towards improving mental health care for refugees. We have designed and implemented specialised care programmes for refugees and asylum seekers with mental health disorders. We provide them with psychosocial support, foster their autonomy and boost their social inclusion with the help of a multidisciplinary team. This team of professionals specialises in social care and inclusion and labour market integration for people with mental health disorders and in psychosocial intervention for refugees.

We firmly believe in our psychosocial approach for the recovery of refugees with mental health disorders. In addition to emotional recovery, we focus on improving their well-being in the new environment, promoting their workplace, economic and social autonomy, and encouraging their social participation while ensuring they can fully exercise their social and civic rights.

Through a collaboration agreement with the Madrid Social Care Agency (AMAs) of the autonomous community of Madrid, we have worked towards providing specialised care for Ukrainian refugees with serious mental illnesses. Our team has carried out a psychosocial assessment to understand the needs of each person, provide individualised support to help develop personal resources and minimise the traumatic impact of the situation. Through these evaluations, we are also able to design the most effective group interventions and support plans, as well as training and technical guidance in mental health for the staff of the reception centres and the AMAs. Likewise, we have developed technical follow-up reports and recommendations and carried out crucial tasks in coordination with the healthcare network, the international refugee protection system, social services and various agencies to ensure their proper care.

We also collaborate with ACCEM to attend to asylum seekers with mental health conditions in our care centres and supervised housing. We provide them with a residential environment adapted to their needs, encouraging their emotional recovery through specialised care for their mental health and facilitating their social inclusion in coordination with the international refugee protection system.

Fundación Manantial is part of the most prominent group of mental health care providers of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Spain. UNHCR has assembled this group with the purpose of working together with specialised entities in the field of migration and mental health to improve the quality and availability of mental health services and psychosocial support for refugees and asylum seekers in Spain.

Fundación Manantial will continue to support people with mental health disorders who are especially vulnerable due to displacement, by offering our experience, knowledge and most valuable asset: our human resources.